Issue: Chairperson's Reports
Recently, I was in a used bookstore in Franklin, North Carolina, a tiny mountain town west of Asheville. On the plywood shelves I found a collection of ten disintegrating copies of The Etude, a current events classical music magazine, from 1947. Every page is fascinating, even though the magazines are so moldy they make your eyes water and your lungs ache. There are reports of Stravinsky working … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I reflect upon a decade of travel as ICSOM Chairman, it occurs to me it might be possible that I have visited more backstage orchestra lounges than all but a handful of negotiators. Often the personality of the musicians of the orchestra is represented in these lounges, and the musicians’ history as well. I have seen old program books, posters, promotional buttons, and even materials from … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
As I write at my desk tonight, it is four days before Thanksgiving in the United States. We are about to enter the holiday season, a season that in many ways is defined by music and memories. The musicians of ICSOM will be performing music that is all too familiar to us, with countless Nutcrackers, Messiahs, and holiday arrangements we have performed hundreds if not thousands of times. While we … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2015
From the first moment of my conscious memory, I have struggled with depression. In the decade that I have spent traveling to meet with musicians, I have often seen a look in the eyes of those in the back of the room that I recognize all too well. Sometimes I understand that it is situational; after all I am often meeting with people fighting for the survival of their orchestras and their careers. … [Read more...]
Issue: October 2015
Each season, ICSOM maintains a list of positive news articles and studies that demonstrate the resiliency of our orchestras, and the sustainability of artistic organizations. This information can be used to demonstrate that success is occurring for many orchestras, and that success is achievable for organizations that are portrayed as being in a troubled position. The latest Giving USA study, … [Read more...]
Issue: July 2015
ICSOM has both a Chairperson and a President. Our bylaws identify the Chair as “chief executive officer” and state that “the President shall be responsible for the supervision of the operation of the organization.” Even with those distinctions, there is occasional confusion in the field over just what the titles mean. But in practice there has been no confusion at all—at least since I became Chair … [Read more...]
Issue: May 2015
A recent article posted on the Daily Beast website reported on how “Music Shields a Child’s Psyche in a Time of War”. The article describes a moment when Palestinian music students reach a road block assembled by Israeli soldiers, and in the midst of the tensions inherent in the conflict of the region, a student and a soldier each learn that the other can play the violin and they play for each … [Read more...]
Issue: March 2015
Recent days have seen an intense escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, which began in 2013 and led to a revolt that ousted President Viktor Yanukovich in early 2014. When Russia subsequently annexed Crimea, a war ensued between pro-Russian factions and the government established in Ukraine following Yanukovich’s removal from office. The city of Donetsk has taken the brunt of the conflict, with … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
On August 25, 2012, the management of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Board of the Woodruff Arts Center locked out the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony. On September 7, 2014, the management of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Board of the Woodruff Arts Center locked out the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony. In an often misattributed and perhaps apocryphal quote, it has been … [Read more...]
Issue: Chairperson's Reports
One of my most moving moments of last season came on January 14, while in Tampa. I walked into a meeting of the committees of the Florida Orchestra, and they handed me a check for $800 to send to the Minnesota Orchestra musicians. What I knew at that time, but couldn’t quite reveal for another hour or so, was on that day the most egregious lockout in the history of orchestras had finally ended. … [Read more...]
